The Toyota FT-1 Concept is revealed during the 2014 North American International Auto Show held at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit on Monday, Jan. 13, 2014. / Andre J. Jackson/Detroit Free Press

Toyota unveiled the FT-1, a concept sports car that harkens back to the Supra it made in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

The reveal came a year after General Motors drew rave reviews for the seventh generation of the Chevrolet Corvette, which won 2014 North American Car of the Year, and could tap into a renaissance of high-performance sports cars as the U.S. economy finally gains traction.

Although the Supra isn’t being revived in name — as was rumored among auto enthusiasts — the Japanese automaker is reviving the Supra in spirit.

Calling the grand coupe the Toyota FT-1, the automaker said the vehicle — designed by Americans in Toyota’s Calty Design Research studios — stands for Future Toyota.

Calty President Kevin Hunter called the FT-1 “the ultimate, world-class sports car,” saying it signaled a pivot in strategy away from consensus-driven design.

The concept version could portend the arrival of a production model that would inject a dose of fresh energy into Toyota’s staid design image — a stated goal of President Akio Toyoda.

The company did not say whether it would build the concept, but it did announce that enthusiasts can drive the car virtually. It will be available as a downloadable vehicle for PlayStation3’s Gran Turismo 6 real driving simulator Tuesday. The car, the company said, was created digitally to demonstrate what a production FT-1 could achieve.

Alex Shen, a chief designer who also was on hand for the announcement, pointed out some of the design features: windswept curves, deep intakes, sling-shot cockpit, steering wheel controls — and a glass window in the hood to show off the car's engineering.

The car also has a pointy nose, an allusion, perhaps, to a Formula One car.